By Callie Buys
Utah”s nine operational charter schools will provide a unique educational experience for 641 students during the 2001-2002 school year, according to data from the Utah State Office of Education.
As public schools, charter schools do not charge tuition. They receive local, state and federal funds to operate, based on the number of students attending the school, said Barbara Gardner, an Education Specialist for the Utah State Office of Education.
“Essentially the money follows the student,” she said.
A 1998 bill in the Utah legislature allowed the Utah State Office of Education to create up to eight charter schools in three years.
An amendment in 2001 allowed the state office to authorize eight more charter schools.
Five of these spots are still available, Gardner said. Three more charter schools, two in Utah County, will open this fall, Gardner said.
The Utah State Office of Education sponsors all but one of the charter schools.
School districts can also create charter schools, though only Park City School District has done so thus far, Gardner said.
“The misconception is that they”re a private school. People more and more are finding out they are a public school of choice,” Gardner said.
Patti Harrington, Superintendent of the Provo City School District, said she is open to the charter school idea.
“Charter schools are on the political map of both the state and federal government and they are a central part of President Bush”s new plan,” she said. “Charters are an idea we need to keep investigating as an option.”
For a student to attend a charter school, parents must submit a standard application to the school.
If a school has more applications than spaces, a lottery determines which students are accepted, Gardner said.
Charter schools must follow state core curriculum, but often integrate other specialized instruction as well.
“If they don”t serve a special needs population, they more or less focus on different instructional strategies or emphasize a particular curriculum areas,” Gardner said.
Charter schools in Utah reach at-risk youth, hearing impaired children and those with talents in the performing arts.
Michelle Smith, 31, a Lindon parent of four and faculty member of the Timpanogos Academy – a charter school opening next fall – said she likes charter schools because they specialize to the needs of the students.
“Kids aren”t cookie-cutter,” she said. “Schools shouldn”t be cookie-cutter either.”
